Malevich, Kasimir: Suprematist Compositions

Kasimir Malevich's art and his Suprematist manifesto are amongst the
most vital artistic developments of this century. Most of his paintings
are limited to geometric shapes and a narrow range of colors, but the
pinnacle of his Suprematism was his White on White
series. He claimed to have reached the summit of abstract art by denying
objective representation.

Russian suprematism

Although
Chagall
and Soutine both left Russia to seek inspiration in France, the early
20th century saw an amazing renewal in Russian art. Since the far-off days
of the icon painters, there had been nothing in this great country but the
monotony of academic art. Now, as if unconsciously anticipating the
coming revolution of 1917, one great painter after another appeared.
They were not universally welcomed in their homeland, and more than one
artist sought a response elsewhere, but some of the most significant
painters dedicated their lives and their art to their country.

They are difficult artists. Kasimir Malevich (1878-1935), who founded
what he called Suprematism, believed in an extreme of reduction:
``The object in itself is meaningless... the ideas of the conscious
mind are worthless''. What he wanted was a non-objective representation,
``the supremacy of pure feeling.'' This can sound convincing until one
asks what it actually means. Malevich, however, had no doubts as to what
he meant, producing objects of iconic power such as his series of
White on White paintings or
Dynamic Suprematism
(1916; 102 x 67 cm (40 x 26 1/2 in)),
in which the geometric patterns are totally abstract.

Malevich had initially been influenced by
Cubism and primitive art,
which were both based on nature, but his own movement of Suprematism enabled
him to construct images that had no reference at all to reality. Great
solid diagonals of color in Dynamic Suprematism are floating
free, their severe sides denying them any connection with the real world,
where there are no straight lines. This is a pure abstract painting,
the artist's main theme being the internal movements of the personality.
The theme has no precise form, and Malevich had to search it out from
within the visible expression of what he felt. They are wonderful works,
and in their wake came other powerful Suprematist painters such as
Natalia Goncharova and Liubov Popova.